5 Ways to Work Different Parts of Your Body

If you are looking to target an area of the body in your work out, here are some tips to help you tone those thighs or tighten that midsection.

Tip 1: Plan your work out

Are you able to get to the gym multiple times per week? Or are you likely to have to skip a session or two? Knowing your gym schedule can help you to plan how you are going to workout. If you are the type of person who may end up skipping a session or two, then completing a full body workout is for you. This balanced approach will provide stimulation to muscles across the whole body, and is beneficial if you are trying to maximise the amount of energy you burn.

It is harder to target particular muscle groups if you are completing a full body session. If you are looking to focus on a particular muscle group, a split workout schedule will be better for you. This type of workout plan will allow you to focus on a smaller number of muscle groups during one session – and thus work these groups more intensely. When completing a split workout schedule, it is important to make sure you get to the gym to complete each part of the split workout, so that you do not have an imbalance in strength or flexibility between different areas of the body.

Tip 2: Working the abdominals

A well-defined midsection is undoubtedly an attractive feature of both the male and female physique, so it’s not surprising that it’s a key area targeted for improvement by both genders. The key to having a sexy abdominal section is to make sure we cover the range of core muscle groups, which means performing a variety of abdominal exercises and changing the intensity of these exercises when necessary.

Sit-ups and crunches are the commonly known abdominal exercise. These exercises target the rectus abdominus muscles. Variations including performing these on a decline bench, or using a medicine ball to add resistance can be used to increase difficulty. Make sure you perform some oblique (twisting) crunches, side planking or side bending exercises in order to work your obliques. Try performing some Russian twists with a deadball or medicine ball and see how your obliques start to form! Further twisting exercises, such as sit-ups with a twist or bicycles will help work your intercostal muscles. Finally, cable crunches, dumbbell or barbell pullovers will help you work your serratus muscle group.

Tip 3: Squattin’ like it’s ‘hawt’

Squats are a fundamental exercise and are great for working the inner thighs. You can squat even if you are unsure of how to work the squat rack – as there are plenty of variations that can be used in place of a barbell back squat. Body weight squats are a good start, or you can use an exercise ball (between your back and the wall) to aid your squat. Here, your feet should be about a shoulder width apart and you should focus on lowering yourself down until your knees and hips are at about a 90 degrees angle. Try these for some variation:

Static squat – hold the squat position for 30 seconds.

“Air-chair” – holding a squat-like posture where your back is flat against the wall and your ankles, knees and hips are at 90 degrees.

Plyometric squats – go down into the squat position and then propel yourself up explosively into the air. Land softly and drop back into the squat position. Repeat.

It’s suggested that focussing on the smaller upper arm muscles will help you to add more size to your biceps. The biceps brachii isn’t the only muscle that helps to flex the elbow joint. The brachialis and brachioradialis are also important, and stimulating these muscles can help to increase the size and help define the shape of your upper arm. Variation in the type of bicep curl is beneficial for development. Insert some hammer curls, cable curls, incline dumbbell curls, or body weight curls using a TRX suspension rope into your upper-arm work out, rather than just focussing on straight bar or isolated seated dumbbell curls.

Tip 5: Killer calves

There is nothing like having a good set of calves to show off with your latest kicks or heels. Getting definition in the calf muscles doesn’t require you to continuously repeat seated or standing calf raises. One of the best ways to tone up your calves is to skip (jump rope), because you are repeatedly bouncing on the balls of your feet. Skipping is also a fantastic cardiovascular activity, so you’ll not only be toning your calves, but you’ll be helping to tone your whole body.